Southern California Housing Market On The Rise In April

A report issued last week by La Jolla-based DataQuick shows that the Southern California housing market showed robust signs of life in April as sales rose more than usual from March. This is especially good news after a lackluster 1st quarter. Though down from April 2013, the Southern California home sales are higher than they were in 2012 and 2011, and show a shift from February and March when sales were at a six-year low.

DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage said the housing market’s quickened pulse could be a sign it is getting in position to swing up but will need more inventory on the market for those numbers to grow. Southern California homeowners have seen home sale prices rise for 25 consecutive months, and in many cases have just regained equity positions, but the inventory issue has been a concern for awhile now. DataQuick predicted it is likely inventory will pick up quite a bit as the summer listing/buying season hits full bloom.

April also saw builders ramp up construction of new homes, providing a jolt to the housing market and the broader economic recovery, the L.A. Times reports. Nationally, new construction has been muted in recent months, a trend economists blamed partly on severe winter weather across much of the country. In California, new home starts climbed 11.1% from March, and building permits, a gauge of future construction, jumped 8% nationwide according to the U.S. Commerce Department.